Skip to Content

Improvisation and Writing: Julio Cortazar's 'El Perseguidor' and the Pursuit for Freedom

Jaime R. Brenes Reyes

Published: 2010-11-19

This article examines Julio Cortazar's writing techniques through his short story "El Perseguidor," which is modeled from the life of jazz great, Charlie Parker. "El Perseguidor" is similar to improvised music in that its rhythm and 'internal tension' create the common scheme and fundamental chords that are shared between author and reader. The reader, then, enters the story as co-creator and participant in the improvisatory process.

Available Files

  • brenes_reyes_pursuer.pdf

    117 KB | application/pdf

    Download

Listening itself, an improvisative act engaged in by everyone, announces a practice of active engagement with the world, where we sift, interpret, store and forget, in parallel with action and fundamentally articulated with it ("Mobilitas Animi" 113).

– George E. Lewis